The Mississippi recipients include MPA Member newspapers The Natchez Democrat, The Oxford Eagle, Picayune Item, and Laurel Leader-Call. Mississippi Public Broadcasting has also been awarded funding through he program, which "works with publishers around the world to strengthen the connection between journalists and the communities they serve. It also helps address the news industry's core business challenges."

Click here to register for a webinar on the next series of grantsRead more about the Facebook Journalism Program]]>Wed, 8 Apr 2020 19:48:33 GMTMPA issues statement on newsprint tariffs rulinghttps://www.mspress.org/news/news.asp?id=416214
https://www.mspress.org/news/news.asp?id=416214

JACKSON — The state newspaper trade group is hailing a decision by the International Trade Commission to reverse tariffs on Canadian-imported newsprint.

"This is a tremendous victory for newspapers across North America and for the independent press," said Mississippi Press Association President Paul Keane, publisher of The Wayne County News. "If left unchecked, these tariffs posed a real and substantial threat to newspapers all over Mississippi and from coast to coast."

Keane, who traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this year to discuss the existential threat of tariffs with Mississippi's congressional delegation, singled out Mississippi's senior Sen. Roger Wicker for his help in turning back the ITC's determination.

"Sen. Wicker was vital in helping us make our case before the ITC last month," Keane said. "His impassioned testimony spoke so well for the many men and women whose livelihoods depend on the community newspaper and newsprint industries."

Keane also thanked MPA Past President Bill Jacobs, the retired publisher of the Daily Leader in Brookhaven, for his leadership in the tariff fight.

"Bill was our point person with state and national leaders, and we are in his debt for his continued service to Mississippi newspapers."

Both Keane and MPA Executive Director Layne Bruce hailed the work of national trade groups, including the News Media Alliance and the National Newspaper Association, for their successful lobbying efforts on the issue.

"These groups have been working virtually non-stop for the past year to deliver a successful ruling for us," Bruce said. "They've done a tremendous job."

Founded in 1866 and marking its 152nd year, MPA is the trade group for Mississippi newspaper media.

The American Society of News Editors and the Associated Press Media Editors offer this two-page tip sheet with some of the best wisdom of journalism organizations committed to journalist safety and the pursuit of a free and dedicated press corps.

JACKSON, Miss — Nationally known reporters, political commentators and a host of Mississippi journalists will take part in a special day-long summit focusing on the vital role of journalism in democracy and the challenges it faces in the modern age of politics and social media.

"People, Politics, and the Press" will be held Saturday, July 14, 2018, at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The summit is presented by the Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Public Broadcasting, the Mississippi Press Association Education Foundation, the Clarion Ledger, and Mississippi Today.

Confirmed speakers and moderators for the event include PBS NewsHour White House correspondent and NBC News contributor Yamiche Alcindor, Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith, New York Times national political correspondent Jonathan Martin, and longtime CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston, a native Mississippian.

"This program is part of a special initiative funded by the Mellon Foundation and administered by state humanities councils to explore the crucial role journalism plays in creating informed citizens and a healthy democracy," said Stuart Rockoff, Executive Director of the Mississippi Humanities Council.

In addition to keynote addresses, the agenda includes panel discussions on the work of and challenges to local newspapers in Mississippi, covering politics at the state capitol, and the debate over "fake news' and public trust in the media.

"This initiative is a response to the challenges the mainstream news media has faced in our current political and cultural climate," said MPB Executive Director Ronnie Agnew.

Over a dozen Mississippi journalists representing organizations such as the Associated Press, Clarion Ledger, Mississippi Today, the Sun Herald, and several community newspapers are scheduled to participate.

Admission is free but registration is required. Lunch will be available for a fee of $14 at the time of registration. For a complete agenda, speaker and panelist biographies, and to register, visit the event website at peoplepoliticspress.com.]]>Wed, 6 Jun 2018 02:59:52 GMTNew postal hubs announced for newspapershttps://www.mspress.org/news/news.asp?id=244039
https://www.mspress.org/news/news.asp?id=244039
The announcement followed passage of a bill in a key Senate committee last week calling for a study of timely rural mail delivery.

David E. Williams, chief operating officer of the Postal Service, credited the National Newspaper Association with working to establish the hubs. NNA requested study of the hub operation in testimony to the Postal Regulatory Commission in 2012, and has met with USPS continuously since then on the opening of the hubs as mail plants have closed.

A service hub permits publishers to prepare mail destined for nearby post offices in "Direct" containers that can be handed off directly at a hub to ride postal transportation to the destination post office, so that 5-digit, Carrier-Route-or mixed 5 digit containers combining both-can be dock-transferred between one post office and another in the Hub territory, usually that of the old Sectional Center Facility.

The preparation of mail in 5-digit and carrier-route containers for hub handling avoids long and unnecessary trips to mail processing centers and helps publishers to reach subscribers more quickly. Publishers wanting to enter mail at the hub, possibly because the newspaper is printed nearby, can get the old SCF price for entering these containers there.

The establishment of hubs has become a pressing necessity for community newspapers that rely on the mail for circulation because nearly 100 mail processing centers have been shuttered by USPS in recent years and another 82 closings are planned. Williams said USPS had set up the hubs to help serve the customers of USPS and NNA newspapers.

"This process has been gradually coming into shape since NNA first met with USPS in 2013," NNA President John Edgecombe Jr. said. "Some of our members have been using the hubs while others have been waiting for their hubs to open. We think this development is going to help us improve service to readers who are in satellite towns that depend upon our publications and our markets. We appreciate the Postal Service's decision to establish them."

NNA Postal Committee Chair Max Heath said the complexity of the Postal Service requires patience and determination to achieve long-term projects.

"USPS is nearly a $70 billion corporation with a half-million workers and more than 150 billion pieces of mail. It is not easy to make large changes like the plant realignment, nor to plug in the patches we asked for. Setting up hubs involved changing mailing lists, communicating with software providers, reprogramming USPS' core information structure PostalOne, and hundreds of other details. The hub solution seemed like a long time coming, but given the environment we are operating in and the tight financial condition of USPS, it is not surprising that it took a lot of patience and effort to get this new plan to come into being. I want to thank Postmaster General Megan Brennan and Mr. Williams for sticking with us through this process. I also want to thank Brad Hill, president of Interlink, and my colleague on the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee for his help in consulting with USPS on these hubs. They are going to make a difference, I believe. Newspapers should check the hub list and make sure via that office or their post office that dock transfers are occurring, and with software vendor to assure SCF prices being granted for direct containers dropped at hubs," Heath said.]]>Thu, 30 Jul 2015 21:42:15 GMTWomen's Council to honor Overby with Legacy Awardhttps://www.mspress.org/news/news.asp?id=216656
https://www.mspress.org/news/news.asp?id=216656Tickets available for dinner featuring award-winning chefs

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss Women's Council for Philanthropy will honor Charles Overby, a champion of the First Amendment and the free press, with the 2015 Legacy Award this spring at the University of Mississippi.

Overby will receive the Legacy Award, presented by C Spire, at a dinner April 18 at Carrier House, home of Chancellor Dan and Lydia Jones on the Oxford campus

"We are thrilled to honor Charles Overby with a tribute to the cities he has impacted through his professional, personal and philanthropic endeavors," said Karen Moore, OMWC chair. "This event will be a sellout, so we are encouraging the Ole Miss family to get their tickets quickly."

For 22 years, Overby was chief executive officer of the Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan foundation that educates people about the press and the First Amendment. His service as CEO of the Newseum spanned 1997 to 2011, during which time he supervised the building of the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. He also served as CEO of the Diversity Institute, a school created in 2001 to teach journalists and aspiring journalists while increasing diversity in newsrooms.

The dinner will be prepared by a culinary team based on locales important to Overby: Oxford; Nashville, Tennessee; and Washington, D.C. The trio of chefs will be led by John Currence, founder of the City Grocery Restaurant Group.

Currence opened his first restaurant, City Grocery, in 1992 in Oxford. Since that time, the City Grocery Restaurant Group has celebrated a number of openings, including Nacho Mama's, Kalo's, Ajax Diner, City Grocery's catering company the Main Event, Bouré, Big Bad Breakfast and Snackbar.

Recipient of 2009 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: South, Currence was honored as Restaurateur of the Year and Chef of the Year by the Mississippi Restaurant Association in 1998. In 2006, he received the Southern Foodways Alliance's Guardian of Tradition Award and won the 2008 Great American Seafood Cookoff in New Orleans.

Executive Chef Tyler Brown, recently named one of Esquire magazine's Four New Chefs to Watch, leads Nashville's acclaimed Capitol Grille restaurant. A farm-to-table enthusiast, Brown strives to serve cultural sustainability by paying homage to cooking practices of the past. During Brown's tenure, the Capitol Grille has earned the coveted Forbes Four Star and AAA Four Diamond designations, was voted one of America's best restaurants by Gourmetmagazine, appeared on the Food Network and was recognized at the James Beard House.

Scott Drewno serves as executive chef of The Source, the first Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group restaurant in the nation's capital. Since opening, the restaurant has been honored with numerous accolades including three-star reviews from both The Washington Post and Washingtonian Magazine. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington awarded The Source "New Restaurant of the Year" in 2008 and "Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year" in 2011; Drewno received the coveted "Chef of the Year" prize in 2010. In 2012 and in 2013, Drewno was asemi-finalist for the "Best Chef Mid-Atlantic" James Beard Award.

The Legacy Award of the Ole Miss Women's Council recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions as philanthropists, leaders and mentors and brought about definitive, positive changes in the University, state and nation.

"This is a huge honor, and I am grateful to the Women's Council for its exceptional philanthropic work," Overby said. "My idea of perfection is sitting down with friends and enjoying a good meal and good conversation. Being at the chancellor’s home with these incredible chefs will provide a memorable evening for all involved."

Overby earned a bachelor's degree from Ole Miss and has been presented honorary doctoral degrees from Mississippi University for Women and Millsaps College. He is a member of the Mississippi Press Association Hall of Fame and has been inducted in both the student and alumni halls of fame at UM.

The Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics was established at Ole Miss with a $5.4 million gift from the Freedom Forum to honor Overby's extensive professional contributions. He continues his involvement with Ole Miss students as an adjunct instructor for the Meek School of Journalism and New Media.

The Ole Miss Women's Council for Philanthropy recognizes that meaningful lives and careers in and beyond college rely on strong relationships and nurturing support. Mentorship, therefore, is the cornerstone of OMWC scholarships, and almost 100 students have blossomed under this program. OMWC's endowments total nearly $11 million, and each new scholarship is recognized in the Rose Garden near the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

C Spire is the presenting sponsor for the 2015 Legacy Award. FedEx Corp. is the platinum sponsor, and gold sponsors are FNC Inc. and Kimberley Fritts. Sanderson Farms, Two Rivers Ford, RJ Young, the Freedom Forum and the Mississippi Press Association are silver sponsors.

Previous Legacy Award recipients include Netscape president-CEO and education visionaries, Jim and Donna Barksdale; "The Blind Side" mom and co-founder of the Making It Happen Foundation, Leigh Anne Tuohy; the heart and soul of America's first family of football, Olivia Williams Manning, who has nurtured sons Cooper, Peyton and Eli Manning to be servant-leaders; and Mississippi's "education governor," champions for improved race relations and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, William and Elise Winter.

Founded in 1848, the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) is the flagship university for the state of Mississippi. A world-class public research university, the institution has a long history of producing leaders in public service, academics and innovative research. With more than 23,000 students, Ole Miss is the state’s largest university, with a major medical school, a nationally recognized law school and 15 academic divisions. It has been ranked as one of America's best college buys by Kiplinger's Personal Financeand one of the best places to work by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

]]>Sun, 15 Feb 2015 16:41:58 GMTVan Anglen named Deep South Editor for APhttps://www.mspress.org/news/news.asp?id=204008
https://www.mspress.org/news/news.asp?id=204008ATLANTA (AP) — Jim Van Anglen, news editor for The Associated Press in Georgia and Alabama, has been promoted to the newly created position of Deep South Editor.

Van Anglen will oversee coverage in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, with an emphasis on enterprise, accountability and investigative journalism.

The appointment was announced Nov. 17 by South Region Editor Lisa Marie Pane.

Van Anglen, 50, joined the AP in 2011 and has overseen coverage of a number of significant news stories, including the aftermath of a massive tornado outbreak in Alabama, the debate over Alabama's new immigration law, the arrival of Ebola patients in Atlanta, and hotly contested U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in Georgia.

AMG's stable of newspaper-distributed magazines, including American Profile, Relish, Spry Living and Athlon Sports, have a combined circulation reach of 38+ million via 1,600 newspapers. The move will add Parade, the largest-circulation magazine in the U.S. at 32 million households, and Dash, a food & family magazine with 8.8 million circulation, to the AMG portfolio. Parade.com and DashRecipes.com are also part of the acquisition.

Parade magazine is distributed weekly by more than 700 newspapers, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Baltimore Sun, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, New York Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times and The Washington Post.

JACKSON – The state newspaper trade group has voiced strong opposition to an announced plan by the United States Postal Service to further consolidate mail processing facilities in Mississippi.

The announcement, made June 30 by USPS officials, will affect processing centers in Grenada, Hattiesburg and Gulfport, with the two southern facilities being consolidated into Mobile, Ala. Processing in Grenada will be transferred to Jackson, which will be the lone processing facility in Mississippi after all consolidations occur that began in a first wave initiated in 2013.

The Mississippi Press Association Board of Directors issued a statement objecting to the Postal Service’s plan, joining other industry trade groups and the National Newspaper Association (NNA) in protesting the changes.

“We have seen repeatedly that closures and consolidations negatively affect newspaper distribution and the delivery of business mail,” said MPA President Joel McNeece, publisher of The Calhoun County Journal in Bruce. “We object to this plan by the Postal Service and fail to see how further consolidation and lowering of service standards will help keep postal delivery competitive in the marketplace.”

McNeece said the announced changes, scheduled to take effect in 2015, will significantly impact rural mail service.

“Newspaper and periodicials delivery, and, in fact, all mail service would be delayed even further,” he said.

According to the NNA, USPS is showing operating profits for Fiscal 2014 after years of significant losses. Postmaster General Patrick Donohoe cited a $40 billion debt on the USPS balance sheet as the impetus for further service cuts. Most of USPS is indebted to the US Treasury, which it owes for accelerated prepayment of postal retiree health costs imposed by Congress in 2006.

“We need postal reform legislation and quickly,” McNeece said. “MPA stands with other associations, including NNA, in calling for legislation that will address preservation of rural mail delivery. We absolutely believe continued, reliable mail service to American communities is vital to our overall economy.”

Founded in 1866, MPA is the trade group for over 120 member newspapers and their affiliated journals, magazines and websites.